An interesting conversation starter from Above Average Jane:
We in the blogosphere write and comment a lot on what we want from candidates and elected officials. Things are seldom a one way street however; other than voting, what is our part of the bargain? What should we be doing during campaign season? If our candidates are elected, then what? Do we just sit around until the next election? ... (full text)
Jane wants to know, "Are we making a bargain with candidates? If so, what is our part?"
Excellent questions from one of Philly's most civic-minded netizens. And they're questions that can be answered by all of us, no matter what political beliefs we hold. Jane's going to catalogue responses to this question, so feel free to let her know if you decide to respond. And if you don't blog, you can respond by commenting on a participating post -- you can even post your response here at Philly Future (in the comments below or in your own blog post).
Like Jane, we're interested in seeing how people respond to a question that's bound to spark important answers. So how about it? How do we hold up our end of the deal?
Responses to the question:
- Above Average Jane: Our Part of the Bargain: My View
- dragonballyee: Our Part of the Bargain
- duh: Our Real Part of the Bargain
- Fact-esque: What Do We Owe Our Elected Officials?
- Gort 42: A response to Jane
- Liberal Doomsayer: What Must We Do?
- next direction: what is "our part of the bargain”?
- Penn Patriot: My Thoughts on Above Average Jane's Question
- The Sam and BeckyBoo Show: you’re not the boss of me now (oh wait…)
- the smedley log: Our part of the bargain (to salvage a decaying empire?)
and, somewhat related: - Philadelphia Inquirer|Chris Satullo: Of sunscreen, shoes, citizenship and work
voice from the peanut gallery
First: this is a GREAT post! Congratulations Jane, youare, as always, way above average.
We are living proof that our blog here gave us our first BIG, HUGE voice, which we have also carried over to our website www.saveardmorecoalition.org
We proved that the voice we got using the tools available to a bunch of folks without tons of money was invaluable.
What we did was simple: because of the nature of our eminent domain issue we decided early on that we weren't going to back one pony. Instead, we got our concerns and issues out to ALL candidates at the time - we figured that since we are so diverse a group politically, we really couldn't get behind one candidate, and if multiple candidates saw our issue our way, it was a victory no matter who was elected in the end.
You can't always do that.
What else did we discover? That you CAN talk to candidates and politicians even on the larger, national scales. That you CAN make a difference with them even if you do not write the big checks.
During campaign seasons, as citizens, take your opportunities to speak out and be heard constructively. Don't be afraid to ask the tough questions just because someone is a governor or US senator, or running for those offices. They are ultimately accountable to the people, as it is the people who puts them into office.
And once election seasons end, the citizen responsibility doesn't stop. After the election is when you have to get candidates who become elected officials to turn their campaign promises into reality. And if you don't like the way they are handling keeping their promises, hold them accountable - whether through direct contact, letters to the editor of your local papers, etc.
The political process is a partnership: between constituents and politicians. Make it work for you.
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